Torque distributing drive



June 5, 1951 J. P. KOLB TORQUE DISTRIBUTING DRIVE Filed April 2, 1947 2 Sheets-Sheet l June 5, 1951 Filed April 2, 1947 J. P. KOLB TORQUE DISTRIBUTING DRIVE 2 sneetssheet 2:

iNVENTOR may have slight relative movementI thereto along one diameter of said coupling ring |'|6 and so connected tothe upper ring |52 on the other hand, that it may have slight relative movement to said ring |52A along a diameter of the ring |76 at right angles tothe first-mentioned diameter. This permits a flexible drive between the ring gear 42a and the ring |56 approximating that Vprovided. by an Oldham coupling. This novel flexible drive coupling is not an essential part of the present invention but is the subject-matter of my co-pending application Serial-No. 739,010 led April 2, 1947, to which reference may be had for a more detailed description of the driving .i

-co-pending application are mounted, if these arms encounter overloads due to irregularities in the composition of the influent, vsurges and other conditions tending to irregular settling, the torque reaction on the drum 52a will not necessarily be evenly distributed about the axis of the drum and thus the importance of insuring equal distribution of the load through the two trains of reduction gears herein shown will become evident.

As above suggested, the provision of means to insure a substantiallyequal division of the load I between the gear trains is the general object of the present invention.

As herein shown, two like gear trains have their bearings in a stationary body or housing 22.

These trains of reducing gears comprise pinions 68a engaging the'internal teeth on the large annular gear 42a. The pinions 38a are in turn driven from pinions 36a' attached to gears 28a which mesh with pinions |54. The pinion |54 of one train ofY reducing gears is keyed to a shaft to which is also keyed a gear |55 in the lower part of the rdifferential housing |65. The gear |54 of the other1 train is keyed to a shaft which'has a bearing also in the upper part of the differential housing and to which, near its upper end, is keyed a gear |56.

As herein shown, the motor shaft |58 is positively coupled to a shaft |6| having its bearings in the differential housing |65.V The differential mechanism through which the two trains of reducing gears are'driven from the motor shaft |58 comprises a central spider |66 keyed on the shaft |6| and having rotatably secured thereon a plurality of bevel pinions |62 intermeshing with upper and lower bevel gears |63 and |65, the latter being rotatable on the shaft |6|. A drive gear |66is connected to the upper bevel gear |63 and this gear |66 in turn meshes with an intermediate gear |56 constituting the initial gear of the reduction gear train on the right hand sideV of 4 Figure 3. The lower bevel .gear |64 of the differential is keyed directly to a drive gear |66 which, in a similar manner, drive the intermediate gear 555 of the left hand gear train and through it the said left hand reducing gear train.

From the foregoing description it will be seen that the interposition of the differential, comprising the bevel pinions |62 on the spider arms and the bevel gears |63 and |64 intermeshing with said pinions |62, between the driving shaft |58 and the initial .driving pinions |66 and |68 of the respective reducing gear trains insures that any torque reaction from the ring gear 42a upon the pinions 38a directly engaged therewith will be equally distributed between the right hand and left hand reducing gear trains and thusV there will be a substantially equal division of the load between the two gear trains |56-28a-30a-38a. Although the invention is herein shown as embodied ina reduction gear comprising only two trains of reducing gears, it will be understood that the invention is not limited to securing equal Adivision of the load between merely two trains of reducing gears, even though, for most practical purposes, two trains, applying the driving torque at diametrically opposite points on the ring gear, are usually sufficient.

What is claimed as new is:

In reduction gearing for the purposes set forth, in combination, a final gear for transmitting driving torque to a load, a drive shaft, a differential gear assembly mounted on said drive shaft and including a pair of ,driven gears adapted to be rotated upon rotation of said drive shaft, a rst train of reduction gears interconnecting one of said driven gears and said final gear and a second and independent train of reduction gears connecting the other of said driven gears and a point `on said final gear `diametrioally opposite the point of connection of said rst train and nal gear, the sole connections between said rst and second gear trains being through said differential assembly and through said iinal gear, a first housing enclosing said gear trains and nal gear, a second housing mounted on said rst housing and enclosing said diierential gear assembly and a motor mounted on said second housing and connected to drive said drive shaft.

JOHN P. KOLB.

REFERENCES CITED Y The following references are of record in the ile of this patent:

Y UNITED STATES PATENTS Germany Mar. 11, 1922 

